Modem day keyboards for desktop computers come in an integrated package, along with the computer system units when sold. Users can plug in the keyboard cord to a port at the back of the system unit and can then start to type on the keyboard when the desktop computer is working.
In the case of notebook or laptop computers, the keyboard is part of the computer system unit and cannot be separated from the system unit without disassembling the system unit.
Most desktop keyboards carry limited product warranty, on the condition that users do not take apart, disassemble or remove parts of keyboard in any way. The same restriction applies to keyboards for notebook computers. Any such action voids the product warranty. If the keyboard develops any malfunction, the only recourse under the warranty is to have it returned for repair or exchange. Some manufacturers have sticker(s) covering one or more screws used to fasten the keyboard parts together. Any breaking or removal of such sticker(s) will also void the warranty.
In today's technology, most keyboards have fairly high quality and durability. However, in the real-life working environment, desktop keyboards are destined to encounter some foreign objects that tend to cause problems, including, just to name a few, grease from fingers, liquid spillage, dusts and particles in the atmosphere. Without any means to clear the accumulated foreign matter away, inevitably the mechanical functionality of the keyboard is adversely affected.
Typical symptoms include, keycaps stuck in the holding chimneys by the accumulation of dried coffee, grease or dusts. Due to the “void the warranty” restriction, the only solution is to return the keyboard for repair service or in exchange for a new one. Since the keyboard industry in general does not factor in the cost of recycling keyboard components, the cost of sending out a new keyboard to users is lower than the labor cost of diagnosing, fixing and re-assembling a returned keyboard. Hundreds of thousands of returned keyboards gravitated towards storage bins, warehouses and even garbage dumps each year, while no one bothers to figure out how to make the best use of the re-useable resources and come up with a more environmentally sound solution to the problem.
Such return for service/exchange, for fear of voiding the warranty, can be remedied by the improved method of assembly described and presented in present application. The modular keyboard envisioned by present application thus will help the keyboard industry save millions of dollars every year, and is more in tune with the worldwide trend of deployment of environmentally sustainable technology.